Mauritania, located in West Africa, is one of the world’s poorest countries and is ranked 161 out of 187 on the 2014 UNDP Human Development Index. It has a population of 3.5 million people (July 2014 Est), half of whom depend on livestock and agriculture for a livelihood. The southern area of the country is part of the Sahel region, which also includes Chad, Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Niger. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the Sahel is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate variation and unpredictable rainfall, where the annual five to six month “lean season” always brings hunger.

Gift of the Givers has been involved in Mauritania since 2011 and has a dedicated South African staff member based in the country who oversees projects. We have successfully completed three solar powered wells in the south and have annual feeding projects during Ramadaan and at Eid al-Adha at four locations in the country. We have also supported education projects through the donation of solar panels and teaching aids. To date our biggest project has been the building of a mosque in Tiguent, the town located halfway between the capital Nouakchott and Rosso, the border crossing with Senegal.

Maatamoulana is a small village in Mauritania which prides itself on being called a city of education.There is one big Mosque here and four smaller Mosques to accommodate people living at the border of the town. Amongst the mosques is also the Mosque of the Islamic Madressah at the edge of the town. Feeding in Mauritania has its own unique culture and therefore things had to be done differently.

Matamoulana only gets seven hours of electricity per day, at different times of the day. Gift of the Givers donates a solar panel to the Mahdharah enabling teachers and students to use their computers while the electricity is off.

Coinciding with the AFCON Qualifier match between South Africa and Mauritania held in September 2015, we sponsored equipment to underprivileged youth and sponsored a soccer tournament. All of the soccer kits for six teams were sponsored by Gift of the Givers. Pictured below is the handing over being done on the Match day a representative of GOTG in Mauritania. Pictured as well is the South African

GOTG started a Sacrificial Meat Distribution in Mauritania in 2013. Due to the complexities of slaughtering large amounts of cattle in the country, Gift of the Givers slaughtered 15 sheep between the villages of Matamoulana and Taysir. The meat was distributed amongst the poorest families in the villages.